Suki, Child of the Snow: Uchiha Healer
by fireaangel
Summary: The scene was falling away before me. The crisis of the past was over, and now all that mattered was getting out of this situation. Alive. But I knew that we would not survive in one piece. There would be one more sacrifice...one more. CHAPTER 5 UP
1. Chapter 1

**Suki, Child of the Snow: Uchiha Healer**

I started writing this story two years ago and finished it last year. Now I'm revamping it a bit...well a LOT, actually, especially on the first few chapters. This particular chapter only had about 1000 words total, so now that it has over 3000, that's saying something. This is the first story in a series that was originally a trilogy, but is probably going to end up having four volumes total. Yes, Suki is an OC but she has a very interesting background that is revealed later on in the story, so if you like interesting things then please read.

**Disclaimer: _Naruto_ is not mine.**

**Chapter 1**

It was an Uchiha legacy. They called her Suki, Child of the Snow. She was so pale she was almost white. Her hair was jet black, as were her eyes. She was beautiful silence, for she almost never spoke, and was often referred to as "Uchiha Healer," since she was so kind and warm-hearted.

Her older brothers were Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi thought nothing of her, but he did often wonder why she stared at him constantly with those endless dark eyes filled with mystery, love, and kindness. Even at a very young age, it was undoubted that she had a unique ability that was discovered none too soon…

…but it was soon enough.

--

Before she had turned four years old, her brother Sasuke had already started school and was working hard to catch up to his role model, Itachi. Suki's birthday was in a week, and she somehow knew this. But what was it to a three-year-old girl who was already reading scrolls and molding chakra? Her parents were convinced she would turn out like Itachi…early excelled and super-strong.

Good thing they didn't know the truth about Itachi…

One particular day, June 17 to be precise, Suki walked over to her mother, and asked her a question seemingly too strange for her age.

"Why is Itachi-sama so intelligently misunderstanding?"

Her mother's jaw dropped.

"Wh-what? Suki, how can you—where did you learn those words?"

"I read them in _Konoha: A Legend_."

"That book is too advanced for you, dear."

"Actually, I find it all rather fascinating. For example…" Suki pulled out said book and placed it on the counter. It was large and rather heavy, so it was astounding just to see her holding it with such ease, much less heaving it onto a counter. Suki, however, ignored her mother's astonishment and continued with what she was saying. "Did you know that in the Henshin X Period, the civilization of a land overseas sought to destroy the recently-established Leaf Village? Our Hokage back then signed a treaty of alliance, which afterwards the country used to send more ninja from the nether region over here. They became the Rain Village and the Grass Village. Mother, what's wrong?"

"Suki-chan…I just don't understand."

"Understand what I'm saying?"

"No, dear, it's not that. I just don't understand how you can be so gifted. _Konoha: A Legend_ is a book for much…older…readers. And your vocabulary! It's so advanced!"

Suki huffed a bit. Why didn't her mother understand? _No one_ understood, actually. Just because she was so young didn't mean she had to stoop to a lower level just to be accepted as normal. If she was hungry for knowledge, she should be allowed to search! But it seemed that no matter what she did, she was always looked down on for being such a genius. In fact, her own father was starting to shove her away! He had said she'd already surpassed him, but that wasn't the point. He was still her father; at least he could show her some respect—and out of a manner other than fear!

It was true. Pretty much her entire clan was afraid of her because she was such a genius. Everyone knew that she would probably end up stronger than the clan's current prodigy, her older brother Itachi, and quite frankly, no one was really very happy about it. Even Itachi himself was uneasy about the whole situation. Really, Suki knew, he just wanted to be left alone, but that wasn't going to happen, and that was a well-known fact as well.

_What I don't understand is why they won't let me be who I am…and why THEY don't understand ME…_

If she was older than three, it wouldn't be so bad. But being practically an infant and a genius wasn't really a very popular or accepted concept. In fact, Suki wasn't allowed to leave the Uchiha complex until she started school. When in reality, she could have started ages ago! Suki pouted to herself. This was just the Uchiha pride. Each member wanted to be the strongest—or at least they acted like it. And everything was always 'for the good of the clan' but all the motives behind those motions were always selfish. Suki was very glad that the Uchiha pride was more common in males, and that she hadn't inherited that unlucky trait. If she had, she knew that she would probably be much farther along on the path to becoming a shinobi, but she wouldn't have bothered to collect important information such as that within the pages of _Konoha: A Legend_.

"Well, if I'm going to be a decent shinobi I should gather as much information as possible beforehand, ne?" Suki finally said, breaking out of her thoughts by meeting her mother's gaze.

"W-well, yes, I suppose, but…"

It was then that Itachi walked by, pausing at the door to deliver his message but taking care not to look behind him, since he knew Suki would have that intent gaze of hers on him in an instant… In fact, she was probably staring at him now. "I'm leaving. I'll be back sometime after dark, so don't stay up late waiting for me."

"Itachi-niisan?" Hearing his younger sister's voice confirmed his suspicions—not only was she watching him, she wanted to talk to him too. Mentally, he sighed. To tell the truth, he didn't like Suki at all. It wasn't because she was already able to read advanced books and use highly-developed language. It wasn't even because she was already starting to learn jutsu at the age of three. No, he didn't like her because of that look in her eyes…it was always there whenever he was present, regardless of the situation. She would stare at him with those eyes, and he always got the feeling that she knew something, something that no one else knew. But what could it be? It just didn't make any sense. And then there was that saying she had taken to repeating to him daily…something about a rising moon and a dying name. She had told him once that it was a prophesy, and that it really did hold meaning, so he should pay attention to his dreams. Dreams? What dreams? He had no dreams. His nights were empty, so why pay attention to nonexistent dreams? He had been sure that he was safe from anything dream-related, since none ever came.

But the dreams _did_ come. They started about a week after Suki had declared the phrase to be a prophecy, when he'd started having mixed feelings about his family…and they didn't stop. Now, instead of emptiness, his nights were one big dream. Most times, he couldn't even tell where one dream left off and another began. They all ran into each other and made him extremely confused. Of course, he hadn't told anyone about the dreams, but he somehow had a feeling that Suki knew. Why? Because she just seemed to know _everything_, no matter whether the information was spoken, implied, or even hidden; somehow, she just _knew._

He didn't want to admit that she had been right about the dreams, but then again it really didn't matter, did it? Besides, lately, the dreams were becoming more like nightmares… So he had already decided to tell her in a few weeks, on her birthday. He was sure she would understand.

But for now, it was time to acknowledge said sister's existence.

"Hai, Suki-chan?"

"In sweet silence the water glistens and covers the rising moon with a hazy mist…and only then will the blood flow freely and the dying name be cast to greatness…"

There it was again. The prophesy. _The blood will flow…_ He didn't really want to think about it.

Itachi then acted very unlike himself. He suddenly fled outside, leaving the door open behind him, and didn't look back. Suki glanced first at the open doorway, then at her mother, who had collapsed and fainted from the sheer power of the words Suki had spoken.

"The time will come," Suki whispered softly, "when snow will heal the wounds of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…"

She walked down a dark hallway and promptly disappeared…

--

June 24 was Suki's birthday, the day on which history would become eternally confused. The party in and of itself was a strange thing, considering how awkward everyone, even the children, felt towards young Suki. Perhaps it would have been better if Suki had not given away over half her presents, but since Suki felt that she didn't need most, if not all, of the ninja gear and other gifts she had received so far, she figured she could just be kind and give them to those who did. Unfortunately, her actions only made the others dislike her even more. Suki, however, pretended not to notice.

"Okaasan?"

"Hai, Suki-chan?"

"Where is Itachi-niisan?"

Itachi had returned the previous night, but so far he had not shown up at all. Suki wasn't worried, just a bit concerned. He had no reason not to come, did he? Could it be that he was afraid of her just like everyone else? Luckily, her mother's answer eased the doubt rising in her mind.

"He's in the other room. I believe he is preparing his gift for you," Mikoto said with a small smile.

"Ah, well, that's good," Suki replied nonchalantly, having already turned her attention back to the party. Everyone else had already given her a small gift, so she was anxious for her niisan to hurry up so she could get it over with. No one really knew it, but Suki disliked receiving presents from anyone, especially since she knew that the majority of her clan both despised and feared her for being stronger than their best, Itachi, and so whatever was given to her held no actual meaning; it was just another object to rest in her hand, just another customary action which she accepted but would not fall victim to, because she would not tolerate unfair treatment done unto her, or anyone else, for that matter.

Finally, almost without Suki even realizing it, the last present was placed in the palm of her left hand. She looked up from where she was sitting to see Itachi standing there with a rather blank look on his face. Suki inwardly smirked. So he was hiding his embarrassment, huh? She opened her mouth to say something but Sasuke beat her to it.

"It took you long enough, niisan," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We were waiting _forever_."

Itachi only considered him enough to give him a glance. Suki smiled and opened her gift. It was a kunai with a note attached to it. The note read: _"Meet me at the lake later today. I'm sure you know the one. Your real present is there."_

Suki looked up at Itachi with her wide, dark eyes, letting her small smile suffice to say she understood.

"Domo arigato, Itachi-niisan."

Itachi offered a vague smile in return. Suki blinked at this, trying to read into her brother's expression, but for once, her brief search turned up with nothing. Who knew what was really going through his mind? Never looking away until her sentence was complete, Suki let those mystical words speak for her:

"The time will come," she repeated as before, "when snow will heal the wounds of the Village Hidden in the Leaves… But until then… Itachi-niisan, iku yo."

--

The night was cold and dreary now, leaving the odd feelings present at the party to wander about unclaimed as Suki headed to the lake Itachi had known she would know. Of course, she also knew that the real reason he wanted her there in the first place was to talk to her in private, which meant that the time for disaster was approaching. The countdown had begun.

By the time she reached the lake, there _he_ was, already waiting in the distance by the water's edge. Suki approached him somewhat cautiously, then joined him where the water lapped the surrounding shore.

"So…what is it you wish to talk about?" she asked, sitting down and gazing across the lake to the other side.

"You, actually. You always seem to know everything. How?"

"Oh…I don't know. I just do. Are you seeking my knowledge of a specific…thing?"

Itachi sighed, an amused smirk on his face. "Hai, see, you already know."

"You've been having a recurring dream, haven't you? And you want me to tell you what it means."

The smirk was already gone, having been replaced with a faraway look that was a combination of distaste and uneasiness. "I didn't want you to know. I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of being right. I hope you're not…"

Suki cut him off. "It doesn't matter whether I am right or not. These are your choices, and your dreams. Simply because I predicted them does not mean I am always going to be right."

Itachi looked away.

"And anyway," Suki continued, still watching the water ebb and flow, "all that really matters is what's right, ne?"

"I…I can't go on like this… And if…if things stay as they are, something worse could happen. I didn't want to do this at first, but then…"

"But there are things you can't remember, and you know it's someone's fault."

"Seikaku ni…someone's to blame, and it's not me, I know it. Sometimes I can see a flare of someone else's chakra, but when I look again it's gone, although I can still feel it. Someone _made_ me forget, and I don't know who or why, but…" Suddenly he stopped talking, and Suki turned her head to look at him. "G-gomen ne, I've talked too much."

"Iie," Suki replied with a smile. "What you say is truth."

After a long pause, Itachi finally said, "…I just want to remember…"

There was more silence after that. Suki stared at her brother with a concerned expression on her face. If only he were allowed to know what she knew…

"Your dream, it goes with the prophesy," she said finally, causing him to break out of his thoughts to listen to her. "There is silence now, and we are by those waters which shine so brightly due to the moon's reflected light that you cannot see its reflection. It is your silhouette that will be against the moon on that night, when sacrificial blood is shed again."

That seemed to get his attention. "Again? Why again? Did this happen before?"

Suki shook her head. "No, but it will. You'll see. You will realize it after it happens."

"Oh. And the…dying name?"

"The dying name," Suki stated matter-of-factly, "is that of our clan. More specifically, you."

"But…"

"Niisan…are you afraid of me?"

"Somehow, yes…but I don't know what makes me afraid."

"That is a secret we shall share, ne? I will not tell anyone you fear me."

"Hn."

"I will refrain from asking about my gift, but in any case…"

"No, here it is…"

A small pendant lay in the palm of his outstretched hand. "This is your present. I'm sorry for not giving it to you at the party…but if the others had seen, they would've known."

Suki's eyes glittered at the sight of the pendant. It was a small, golden locket in the shape of a heart, with precise, scroll-like engraving and the Uchiha symbol etched into the surface. She knew this pendant's significance, both what was known by the clan and what was a secret kept to herself. But she made no mention of this; instead, she mused aloud the reasons for the clan's future demise.

"…to test your strength…"

"Hm?"

"…Do you plan to fight me?"

"You know very well I cannot fight you. As it stands I would be a good match, but I'd lose."

"What about Sasuke-kun? Will you bother with him?

"He is too weak and trusts too much. He needs to be taught that reality is not as glamorous as it's made out to be." It was an indirect response, which did not make it a true answer, but Suki ignored this and focused on the reply itself, rather than the context of the reply.

"While what you say is true, it is a cruel thing to traumatize him so. He loves you with all his heart and you will break him if you do such a thing."

"In that case," Itachi said, looking at Suki with a real smile this time, "you will be all he has left… Take care of that pendant, imouto-chan. To still be with me. Ja ne…"

Suki returned home, quiet, content…

…and alone.

--

Some time later, when _it_ happened, it was late in the afternoon, just before dark. Suki stood on a rooftop and awaited the tragedy. She had prepared herself for this, severing all emotional ties she had with her family so as to be immune to the heartache that she knew would come. Sasuke would be unprotected from this pain, but she would be there for him, and that would be enough.

She heard one scream, just one, and then others followed suit. Some of the stronger clan members fought, but overall, none of them could compete with him.

With Itachi.

Suddenly Suki heard her mother and father calling for her, and teleported to them only because she wanted to see them at least one more time before their deaths, not because she wanted to save them. She had no intention of even trying. No, this was an inevitable and necessary fate that even she would not interfere with.

The last words her parents heard were out of Suki's mouth: "Perhaps things are not always just as they seem." Seconds later, they were no more.

"Suki-chan, that was unnecessary. If you don't watch it, I'll have to kill you too," Suki heard Itachi say.

But her eyes glowed white as her whole body transformed into a gleaming, white figure and rose in midair before speaking again. "You can't kill me, onii-sama. You know that. And if you do so much as to even think of killing Sasuke I will not hesitate to kill you."

There was a moment of silent understanding then, and in that moment of realization, Suki returned to her normal state, after which Sasuke burst through the doors…on the verge of tears.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he all but screamed.

No one even offered a reply.

Itachi stepped into the light, dropped the sword coated thickly with blood, and then vanished. The silent drama was enough. Sasuke screamed and fell to the ground, overcome with a mixture of terror and sorrow.

"No...they're…they're all…"

Suki pulled him to his feet and practically dragged him out of the house. "Not me, Sasuke-kun. He left me alive."

Sasuke hugged her as tightly as he possibly could. "I promise…I'll avenge their deaths someday."

"It's okay. Niisan may have killed them all off, but you know you've still got me, Sasuke-kun."

They walked slowly away from the scene. Suki's words echoed in Sasuke's mind as they passed by limp bodies scattered all over the vicinity:

"You've still got me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Whew! D: It's finally revamped! Today was my deadline, so here ya go! x3 By the way, from now on, you can expect me to upload _something_ every other Tuesday. The next Tuesday I will upload is the 24th of March.**

**Disclaimer: _Naruto_ is not mine.**

**Chapter 2**

-Five years later-

"Furthermore, when one overuses their jutsu extensively, over a period of time, the after-effects will begin to show—usually during heated battle, when the technique is most needed. The user will not be able to call forth the required amount from his recess of chakra, and the jutsu will, as a result, be either very weak or not useable at all."

"Very nice, Suki," Iruka said, praising Suki for her efforts as her classmates just sat and stared. Not a single one of them was left unsurprised—every single jaw was dropped in amazement. This was just another average day in the life of Uchiha Suki, but a miracle to everyone else. "So, for your homework tonight, I want you to research the effects of pressure on the keirakukei, the Inner Gates, and the chakra reserves within the body when the shinobi is ill." Iruka turned to the rest of the class to finish the announcement. Already the kids were bemoaning the homework that awaited them. "As for the rest of you, I'd like a one-page essay on the positive and negative effects of using one jutsu all the time. And remember, a 'page' means _both _sides of the paper. All right, that dismisses class for today! I'll see you all again tomorrow. Keep practicing that transformation jutsu!"

There was a loud clamor as the students scrambled to get out of the door, carelessly snatching up their belongings by making only a halfway attempt to gather _all_ of what was theirs, and leaving the rest behind—mostly notebooks, lunchboxes, and pencils. Suki remained patiently at the front of the classroom, waiting for her peers to leave so there would be peace and quiet for at least a few moments. It was only after the other kids were long gone that she finally moved to begin gathering up her own belongings. She did not scramble, as the others had, because she was not in a hurry, as they had been…and for a very good reason. She was waiting for someone.

That someone made himself known with a slight knock on the partially open door and a question. "Hello…? May I come in?"

Suki stared at the door, breaking into a smile when she heard the person speak. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei," she answered quickly. Kakashi slid the door open and sheepishly scratched the back of his head with one hand.

"I'm not…late, am I?"

Iruka looked over at him. "No, actually," he said, grinning. "You're right on time."

Kakashi straightened and put his arm down. "Am I? Well, that's nice for a change."

"It is," Suki said, stepping in front of him. "And I am ready to go now."

"So you've already gotten your assignment?"

"Yes."

"All right then. See you later, Iruka."

"Bye."

Suki was nine years old, and even more intelligent and powerful than five years before. She was now considered to be one of the strongest ninja in the village, although this was kept secret as she was still very young and subject to disapproving seniors who firmly believed she was nothing more than a kid. But most others who knew of her would have to disagree. People on _that _side of the line believed that her brother Sasuke was more of a child than Suki had ever been. But Sasuke was different, too. He had discovered the usefulness of façades and masks; how he could hide his true self by shutting down and turning cold eyes on the world. Those who had already deemed him childish could not meet his intense gaze, because even if you knew nothing about him at all, looking into his eyes hurt. And since this was true, he was ignored by adults but looked up to by children, as it seemed only they were invincible to his insensitive glaring technique. Only Suki did not have to face his cold exterior. In fact, she was the only one who could get him to actually smile. He showed kindness and love only towards her, for she was all he had left of his family, his old self, his past…

Kakashi and Suki stopped when they arrived at the training grounds.

"What are we here for?" Suki asked.

"We are here to test your strength and stamina," Kakashi replied. "But there is also something else you need to be aware of."

"Yes?"

"The Chuunin Exams."

"You mean the exams one needs to take before they become a Chuunin?"

"Yes. You will take the exams along with your brother and his team."

"But…who am I to be teamed with?" There was a hint of fear in her voice. After all, she _was_ still a child.

"Don't worry. You'll be with Iruka and me."

"But both of you have already passed the exams. And I'm not graduated as a genin yet anyway…"

"You're different," was all Kakashi answered her with. "And anyway, you seem to be strong enough to handle it. But back to the present."

"Hai," Suki answered, easing into a fighting stance. This was standard combat practice. Lately she hadn't been doing so well, as taijutsu wasn't her forte, but she was starting to get better. With any luck she would master this art too.

It was several hours before Kakashi declared Suki's training officially over for the day, and several minutes more before he gave her the final verdict on her progress from the day's training.

"Well, all I can say is you're definitely improving from before. Keep it up and I'll be able to teach you some advanced moves like the jutsu the Hokage's been teaching you. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow here again, okay? Now let's get you home."

--

Midnight is a magical time to be awake. It is both the end of yesterday and the beginning of tomorrow, and it is therefore free from the boundary of time itself, blending both one and the other, past and future, black and white into something entirely new that defies all laws for just one moment. For just one moment…the stark contrast between black and white becomes gray, and we can see two things in one briefly… And then time moves on. This was the moment in which I awoke only to find the atmosphere a little different. My older brother was missing. Upon realizing this, I went outside and saw him, sitting on the rooftop and gazing into the moon.

Jumping up to join him, I said, "Onii-chan, why are you out here all alone?"

"Suki-chan…" he said softly, hugging me in response. I relaxed into his arms, taking a deep, peaceful breath before I spoke again.

"Daijobu, Sasuke…" I told him, and he only hugged me tighter. I smiled and hugged him back, waiting in silence for what I already knew he was going to say. I cuddled him a bit, and he gave a soft chuckle. Yes, this was the side of him that no one else got to see…

"Suki-chan…I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but…I got my Sharingan."

"That's wonderful, Sasuke. Perhaps I shall get mine soon too…" I answered, still smiling. But of course, he couldn't hear what I was thinking: _If only you knew, Sasuke…if only you knew…_

--

The next day, Suki handed in her homework and sat down in her seat in the front row. Her expression did not change, even when Iruka nearly passed out upon seeing the amount she had turned in.

"S-Suki-chan…I didn't ask for this much…"

"But you also did not specify the exact amount you wanted," Suki replied calmly.

"Heh…that _is_ true, isn't it? Well, nevermind then." He turned his attention back to the class. "All right, listen up! Rouin-sensei and I swap classes today, so all of you who are in the advanced class please make sure you have any homework ready that he gave you last time… In a few minutes, we'll line you up and you'll go to his classroom _quietly_, this time."

--

"Today, our mission is to help at the Ninja Academy…" Kakashi began. My eyes grew wide. That meant I'd get a chance to see Suki!

"Can I help in Rouin's class?" I asked abruptly, cutting Kakashi off. He looked at me, apparently not too happy that I'd interrupted him but more interested in my reason for asking that question.

"Rouin…? Doesn't he teach the advanced class?"

"Yes…Suki's in that class; Rouin and Iruka swap out on certain days."

"Ooooh…can I go with Sasuke?" Sakura chimed in.

Kakashi shook his head. "No. You must each go to your own classes and help the teacher there. Yes, Sasuke, you may go to Rouin's class. Sakura, you can help Iruka, and Naruto…do whatever you do."

--

I walked into the classroom and everyone's eyes immediately focus on me, but before I even got a chance to explain myself, my younger sister hopped up and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and enveloping me in a warm hug.

"Sasuke-nii-chan! You came to visit me!"

"H-hai."

"Sasuke-san, please state your business," Rouin said, effectively ruining the tender brother-sister moment.

"Um…" I swallowed hard. "Our mission today is to help out…can I…do you need help in your class?" I asked.

"Well…" Rouin began, running a hand through his shaggy, dark brown hair, "You can help with _her_, if you like. She _is_ your sister, after all."

I nodded. "Yes, I would like that."

Rouin nodded as well. "Very well, then. Take a seat, but be careful to make no interruptions."

While I couldn't really help my sister with the jutsu itself, I did manage to help her by just being there for her. I showed her the minute errors in some of the more difficult problems and applauded her strength in jutsu that at her age would have been too difficult for me. And _that_ was the most amazing part of it—she was so strong that, in addition to being a member of the advanced class at the Ninja Academy, she was also receiving special training from my sensei, Kakashi, as well as the Hokage himself! Furthermore, it was within question that she would soon be chosen as the Fifth Hokage. Now _that _was news that shocked me. My little sister, at the age of nine, was not only indefinitely stronger than me, but also an option for Hokage? It made all my training seem like child's play!

After class ended, I tried to leave, but Suki held me back.

"No, Sasuke-nii, I'm not free to go yet."

"What? Why not?"

"Rouin-sensei has to give me my assignment, and then I have a lesson with Kakashi-sensei, and today is one of the days I learn a new jutsu from the Hokage."

"Wow, you've got a lot to do today, huh?"

"Sasuke, thank you for helping out today," Rouin told me. "Suki, your assignment for tonight is to research the cause of chakra drain and how it can be stopped, slowed, and/or prevented."

"Okay."

We left, not really heading in any particular direction since I didn't know where Kakashi had gotten off to. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far without being interrupted.

"Hey, Sasuke!" I sighed. It was Sakura…

She ignored my sigh. "Hey, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei said we could do what we wanted now, since…"

"No."

"Doshite? You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"If you could go out with me on a date. I said no."

"Actually, I was wondering if you and Naruto wanted to have a picnic with me by the Falls."

I was surprised. "What?"

"Yeah."

"Umm…Suki-chan was…"

"My training was with water-style jutsu, anyway," Suki said, cutting me off.

"Right! So let's all go," Kakashi said, poofing out of nowhere.

"A picnic?" Naruto asked, running up to join us.

Sakura smiled. "Yeah."

"Sounds kinda boring," Naruto replied with a frown, but just as he was about to get clobbered by Sakura he grinned and punched a fist in the air. "But it's a great idea anyway! So what are we standing around here for? Come on, let's go!"

--

Just the fact that I went to the picnic in the first place was unbelievable, but it was even _more_ unbelievable that I actually had fun. I had been expecting to just sit off to the side while everyone else 'socialized' or whatever, but as soon as I tried to do so, Sakura dragged me off to go help Naruto get everything set up because apparently she had spent half the morning putting it together and didn't want to be bothered with it. And of course, since she was going to make Naruto do it anyway, she wanted me to help, if only to make sure he didn't mess anything up. After that, I tried again to isolate myself, but Suki pulled me back so we could all eat together, and afterwards we all had to help clean up before we could watch Suki train with Kakashi. During her break, Suki tagged along with Naruto, who was following Sakura while she picked flowers, and I ended up heading in another direction with Kakashi, because he wanted to talk with me about something important.

Inwardly I hoped the 'something important' was my little sister, because if there was one thing I knew nothing about, it was her. I guess I was lucky, because she was the exact subject Kakashi wanted to discuss.

"You know, Sasuke…you've really got a lot on your hands. Suki-chan, I mean."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, ready for a full-out explanation of Suki's tremendous powers.

"Your younger sister is far beyond anything I've ever seen. I mean, I knew that your clan has a history of shinobi prodigies, but this is unbelievable."

"How so?"

"Suki-chan…has a large amount of chakra, and not only that, she's a genius…almost _more_ than a genius, if you know what I mean. She has such a profound understanding of things that it would take an average person _years_ to even _begin_ to understand all that she does. On top of that, she is capable of using very difficult, high-level jutsu with ease…and she's only nine years old."

"Suki-chan…"

"That's why she's been receiving all this extra training, both from me and the Hokage. She copies the jutsu I've copied, and then…"

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Eh?"

"She copies your copied jutsu? How?"

"With her Sharingan, of course."

"Sharingan?!"

"She's had Sharingan since birth, Sasuke…you mean you didn't know?" No, I hadn't known. In fact, Suki herself had told me 'Perhaps I will get mine soon too', which meant that not only was I being kept in the dark about all of her abilities, but she had also _lied _to me! All this time I had trusted her with everything, and she had been lying to me about her power from the very beginning!

"W-what form? How many tomoe?" I asked, because I had to know. If it was more than mine, I would be angry but also a little scared. Why angry? _Because that would mean she's more able to avenge the clan than I am_, I thought bitterly. But I would also be scared because of her potential.

"Three, same as mine."

Silence.

"I really thought you knew."

So it was as I had feared. She was stronger than me, and I would be standing in her shadow just as I had been in Itachi's. _Geez, _I thought to myself_, I can never win._

There was one more factor in this equation that I could not figure out on my own, so I asked.

"Is…" I struggled to get the words out, as they were more than difficult to say. "Is she—stronger than…than…Ita—Itachi?"

Kakashi looked at me directly. "Huh? Itachi?"

I looked away, whipping my head to the side so fast that my neck popped.

"Well…if you really want to know what I think…I believe she has the potential to surpass even the sannin…she dwarfs Itachi in strength."

My heart almost stopped.

--

To Sasuke, the rest of the day went by like a movie playing in the background, though no one was paying attention. There were no words to describe what he was feeling, nor why he was feeling the way he was, nor why it was all so perplexing. But at least he was finally getting to be by himself like he had wanted, partially because no one could get him to respond to anything they said. He couldn't find words to offer anyone other than his preprogrammed "Hn."

After a few times of trying to get Sasuke to respond, the others finally gave up, realizing that he was not entirely present. After a little while, Kakashi approached him calmly, intend on at least getting _something_ out of him.

"Obviously you're not paying attention, but everyone's worried about you and we're almost done here. You're not going to be able to take Suki to her next lesson."

"Huh? Kakashi…?"

"What?"

"Why? Why is she so strong?"

"I don't know. That's just the way it is."

Sasuke pushed himself to his feet. "H-How long have you been trying to get my attention?"

"A little while. Naruto tried more than the rest of us, though."

"What did he want?"

"I don't know. Go ask him."

--

"Uh…okay," I agreed somewhat awkwardly and ran over to Naruto, who was sitting some distance away and staring into space like I had been. "Naruto!"

Naruto looked up. "Sasuke?"

"Hey! Naruto, I'm sorry, I was thinking about something."

"Well, you must've been thinking_ really hard_, cuz I couldn't faze you. At _all_." Naruto pouted after explaining.

"So…what is it you want to do, anyway?"

At first Naruto didn't respond. But then he shot me a cheesy grin and said, "Swimming!"

I was a little surprised. Swimming? Was _that_ all?

"Okay," I told him, now surprised at myself for agreeing to his proposition, and he laughed.

"Yes!"

He jumped up and ran off. "Hey, Sakura! Sakura, we're going swimming!"

I, now interested, followed him at a pace somewhere between a walk and a run. I heard Sakura's reply:

"Naruto, you pervert! You only want to see me in a bathing suit!"

"No, I don't!" he protested. "I asked Sasuke first!"

"Oh, so now you're gay?!"

"No! No!"

I laughed out right. Naruto's misfortune was often the funniest thing—well, _series_ of things—that I could ever see. But he always somehow managed to beat his previous record with something even funnier.

Sakura, Naruto, Suki, and Kakashi all gathered around me, staring. At first I didn't realize why they were so stunned. Then I got it:

They had never seen or heard me laugh.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said quietly, "You're laughing."

I only laughed harder. They looked so stupid!

Naruto glomped me as Sakura squealed "WAH! SASUKE!!" before glomping me too.

--

Yes, I did end up going swimming with everyone else, except Kakashi, who preferred to sit on the sidelines and watch us make fools of ourselves. Even though I felt somewhat self conscious the majority of the time because Sakura wouldn't stop _staring_ at me, I managed to have a decent time.

After we were all exhausted and what not, we took showers at Sakura's house (I still don't really understand why it had to be _her_ house—maybe it had something to do with me) and changed clothes. As I stepped out of the house, I saw that Suki was already there, waiting for me. After staring at me for a brief moment, she came up to me and held out her hand. I stared at her, then her hand.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"It's time for my training with Hokage-sama."

"Oh." I took her hand and we walked up to my sensei. "We have to leave now. Suki-chan has more training."

"I know," he said. "And you may accompany her, but she's learning many forbidden jutsu, so you are not allowed to learn, copy, or observe them, do you understand?"

"Uh…y-yes."

"I'm _serious_, Sasuke. Exposure to such powerful jutsu could kill you."

"I've…never heard that before."

"It's true. Now…I've got to catch up on my reading…" As he pulled out his book, I rolled my eyes, tugged on Suki's hand, and we both left.

I didn't notice Kakashi cast a shadowed glance in my direction as we walked away.

--

True to my word, I didn't watch Suki train. Instead, I waited on the roof outside so I could be alone and think. So she had the potential to surpass even the sannin? They were pretty dang powerful. And she outmatched Itachi? I didn't even want to know how powerful _he_ was. How could such a little girl be so strong?

As I was left to my musings, Suki was inside, training with the Hokage. Apparently she was learning some new jutsu that would be effective on any opponent at any range…all you needed was their name and extremely precise chakra control. I didn't hear anything that was going on, save for one phrase that jerked me out of my thoughts and sent me plummeting to the ground: "…Jutsu! Uchiha Sasuke." Since it had caught me by surprise, the next thing I knew was pain.

"Ow," I declared to the world.

It was several minutes before I could manage to get up, but when I did, I turned and immediately headed inside to see what the heck had happened. I didn't care what Kakashi had said…I wanted to know why Suki had just used a jutsu on _me. _I was already having a few issues with her now that I knew she'd been lying to me, so for this to suddenly happen, well…it didn't make matters any better.

Throwing open the door to the room I had last seen Suki in, I demanded, "What was that for?!"

Suki whipped around to face me. "Sasuke-nii! Gomen nasai!"

I growled. "What did you do that for?"

"Hokage-sama suggested we use you for the target since you were just right outside…"

"You never really know how the jutsu is going to work," the Hokage interrupted, "so will you tell us exactly what happened?"

I growled again. "I fell off the freaking roof and shot into the ground. It took like ten minutes to even get up! What sort of crazy jutsu does _that_?!" Okay, so I didn't usually talk like that, but I figured no one else would hear it ever again, so it was okay for this particular moment.

"Please accept my apologies."

"Tch."

"Sasuke-nii-chan, gomen ne… Please don't be angry with me. I didn't mean to put so much into it."

I glared at her, but within a few seconds I quickly discovered that it was impossible. Her eyes were too sweet… Adoration washed over me, cooling my anger but also making me a little ticked off that all it took to lose the battle was just one look into her eyes. But at the same time I was relieved, since I didn't really have much reason to be angry with her over that anyway. I hadn't been truly hurt, so I could forgive her. But that didn't mean I could forgive her for lying to me.

Irritation became my main emotion again, but I didn't let it show. "Oh, it's fine," I said. It was a bluff, and they knew it, but I didn't care. "Now, anyways, is Suki's training over?"

"For today, yes. But I'll see her back here the day after tomorrow."

"She'll be here."

Suki and I left. I pretended to act like everything was okay, but only out of habit. It wasn't long before she spoke up and pinned down the problem like she had known it all along.

"I just want you to know, Sasuke, that I tell you the things I tell you to protect you, because I love you."

"You didn't have to lie to me!" I snapped.

"If you had known for all of these years, you would have felt even more isolated than you do now. You would have been jealous of both me and Itachi-niisan, and you would have had much more to live up to."

"I still do," I said through clenched teeth.

Suki shook her head, and her long hair undulated with the motion, in addition to being softly swept back by the same gentle breeze that was rather rudely forcing my bangs into my eyes. "You're wrong. That is only true if it is your choice. You were not destined to be like us, but to be shaped _by_ us."

We had reached home now, and we stood at the front door, Suki perfectly content to let the wind play with her hair; me just getting more and more ticked off by it. Why didn't it understand that I needed to see?!

I shoved the key into the lock (probably a lot harder than I needed to) and glanced up to find a flash of white. Leaving the key in the lock, I pushed my bangs out of my eyes with one hand and pulled the piece of paper off of the door with the other. It was a note—the contents of which only served to annoy me further.

It said: _'Sasuke, remember, if you want to take the Chuunin Exams you have to notify me. Also, don't forget to turn in your form—you still haven't done it yet.'_

I glared at the note as if by just glaring I could somehow kill it. Of course I had forgotten. Isn't it just natural to forget a deadline?

Crumpling up the piece of paper in my fist, I unlocked the door and went inside. Somewhere in the back of my mind I dimly realized that Suki didn't even try to follow me in. At first I paid no attention to this fact. If she was so strong, she should know how to use a relocation jutsu, right?

After closing (okay, _slamming_) the door behind me, I locked it, then headed into my room to gather clothes and get a shower. I gave no thought to Suki, as she could very well take care of herself, completely unconcerned about where she was or wasn't, or where she could be. But when I woke up the next morning, I discovered that one horrible truth that panicked me indefinitely.

Suki had never come in.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, this chapter skips around a lot, so....I hope no one gets lost. :P I am really proud of the way this is turning out, compared to its original format. Ick! I'm really starting to dislike the original. -beats the original story with a broom-

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own _Naruto_, okay?**

Chapter 3

I kept silent as Sasuke tore the note off of the door, stared at it for a moment, and then crumpled it up in his fist before unlocking the door and heading inside. He was obviously angry, that much I could tell. _But he doesn't have to be so childish about it…_ I thought to myself, taking a step forward as if to follow him inside. I couldn't have told him about my Sharingan, not when he had only just gotten his. He wouldn't have been able to be happy for my good fortune; instead he would have been crushed, just as he was now.

I sighed. This was what came out of me being what I was. Although I had tried to negate Sasuke's negative outlook with 'that is only true if it is your choice', he was right anyway. As much as I didn't want to see it, he _was_ in my shadow, and as fate would have it, he would _always_ be in my shadow. What I had said was true, however. He truly _wasn't_ meant to be like Itachi and me; he was to be shaped by us. This meant that he would have to learn by example the true meaning of strength, among other things, so he would not make the same mistakes as those who came before him; those who were left behind in the bitter future of the present past. But I also knew that Sasuke would not accept these terms very easily; he was one to fight his destiny every step of the way, so it would therefore take an even longer journey to get him where he needed to be, and unfortunately, where he needed to be had nothing to do with killing Itachi.

The door was abruptly slammed shut in my face, which took me by such great surprise that I actually found myself wondering if I had spoken my thoughts out loud…which would have accounted for this sudden display of evident yet silent rage, considering that I had mentioned Itachi, but I immediately came to the conclusion that I had not spoken aloud, and that time had not passed as quickly as I had thought; apparently all the time that had passed in my thoughts was merely a few seconds in reality. I heard the distinct _click_ of the key in the lock, which only confirmed my suspicions. I smiled, unimpressed by this action. I knew he would probably be angry with me for the rest of the week at most, but if he was trying to keep me out, he couldn't.

Just as I began to make a hand sign, a small shock akin to electricity ran through me and I dropped the hand sign immediately, turning wide eyes toward the village gates. To the unsuspecting, the scenery would seem normal, but I knew that this was not the case. That feeling was none other than my chakra picking up on another person's chakra signature…one that was not only extremely strong, but also extremely familiar. What was Itachi doing near the village perimeter?

He had been gone for such a long time…five years, wasn't it? This was the first time I had sensed him anywhere near us, or anywhere near the village, for that matter. If he was returning, there had to be trouble. With that in mind, I took one last glance at the closed door in front of me before turning on my heel to leave.

--

Sasuke awoke the next morning to an eerie peacefulness that made him slightly suspicious, but of course he simply chose to ignore it, trying to pass it off as lack of sleep since he hadn't slept very well the night before. As in all things with him, it would take a huge shock to his system to get him to listen to what his intuition was trying to tell him, and as usual, when he finally _did_ realize what was going on, it was too late. _Hours_ too late.

--

I was nearly in tears. Suki was all I had left, and now she was missing. While I knew she could take care of herself, I was worried about whether or not she had left on her own or was taken by force. The latter I could deal with, but the former was almost too much to fathom. Had she left because of me? It didn't make much sense, but I couldn't really come up with anything else—my mind seemed to be bent on not supplying me with answers—and it felt like it was my fault anyway, even if it wasn't. Of course, I succeeded in keeping up the illusion of superiority and confidence, even though it seemed my teammates already knew me well enough to see past my calmness and start asking why I wasn't acting like myself. When I told them, Sakura gave an exaggerated display of emotion and promised to help me find Suki, while Naruto suddenly got very serious about it and actually started acting mature, and Kakashi simply sighed and forbid us to search for my sister.

"WHAT?!" we screamed.

Kakashi sighed again. "The Hokage keeps tabs on her. It's obvious she's left the village, because he can't find her through his sources. Anbu have already searched the village, but there's no sign of her anywhere."

"But she could have been kidnapped!" I growled, glaring at my sensei as hard as I could. I hoped he would get the message from the anger I was showing, but apparently he didn't…either that or he noticed but paid no attention.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but you are not allowed to leave this village unless you have an order from the Hokage."

"Then we'll just go get one!" Naruto declared, starting to walk away.

"It's no use," Sakura sighed.

"But we have to get her back! If anything happens to her, Sasuke'll…"

I cut him off with a short sentence and a glare. "I'll what?"

"Y-You'll…"

"I'll never forgive myself, and I'll get her back somehow, and never let anything happen to her ever again," I finished for him, turning away and putting my back to all of them.

"If it makes you feel any better, Sasuke, I highly doubt she was kidnapped," Kakashi said, apparently trying to guide me away from feeling the need to search for her.

I flinched and turned to face him again. "What do you mean?! Are you saying she left of her own free will?!"

I got no response, just several stares.

"Sasuke-kun…if she really _did_ leave of her own accord, don't you think she would've had a good reason?" Sakura questioned timidly after a few minutes had passed. This took the edge off of my anger, but it didn't stop me from harboring the emotion completely.

"And you're all just going to give up, just like that," I said in response. It was both a question and a statement. But most importantly, it was a fact. These were my parting words as I turned my back to them once more and ran away. _Fine, I'll just go look for her myself! Why did I even tell these useless idiots in the first place?!_

Once I was far out of their sight and well beyond earshot, I increased my speed to get to the other side of the village faster, inwardly hoping no one would see me because they would probably know what I was doing. Unfortunately it was soon proven true that _I_ didn't really know what I was doing, because after charging through one of the many training grounds I suddenly hit a wall. Literally. Now lying on the ground in front of the wall, I looked up at the sky, complaining to the carefree clouds with death glares rather than words. It almost seemed like they were making fun of me for rushing through the village so fast that I had somehow succeeded in getting lost, which was a new thing for me. In addition, it felt like I had broken something. But then I remembered the reason I was lying here in front of this wall in the first place, which only made the pain that much worse.

"Oh, Suki…" I moaned hoarsely, "Where are you?!"

--

As I expertly darted from tree to tree, I hoped with all my heart that my brother wouldn't worry. He had no reason to. I was only meaning to confront the problem before it began, and I could not do so within the walls of the village.

I sensed Itachi's chakra signature off to the immediate left and I automatically turned towards that direction. It was only a matter of time before I reached him, which ultimately ended up being not very long, especially since when I had reached where he had been, he appeared behind me and I turned to face him with an emotionless face. "Itachi-niisan."

"Suki-chan."

He looked exactly the way he did in my dreams, which meant that they were not dreams, but visions. I had seen everything before, and it was because of this that I knew he needed my help. Whether he would accept that fact or not was up to him.

I ditched the emotionless expression for one of a calm knowingness, and I gave my brother a small smile…one that I knew he would return, though not in the same way. True to my supposition, he spoke his smile rather than showing it visibly: "You are so predictable."

"Am I?" I questioned with a grin.

"I knew you would come."

"A simple 'thank you' will suffice."

There was a long, drawn out pause filled with silence that followed before I gently broke it with a few simple words.

"So what is it?"

At first Itachi didn't respond, but after studying me for another moment, he finally answered, "It's complicated."

"First, may I ask why you are here alone? Aren't you usually with a partner?" I asked, drawing him away from the topic to get him back to the point of comfort we shared in all conversations.

He blinked in slight surprise. "How would you know that?"

I smiled again. "Have you forgotten?"

At those words, his expression turned into more of a reflective glare than anything else. Immediately I knew: his early memories were still eluding him. But I said nothing, allowing him to confirm the truth instead. "Nothing I hadn't wanted to remember," was his reply.

"If I am correct, the complication lies not within the solution to the problem, it is in the way to bring about the solution to the problem."

I caught the hint of a smile on Itachi's face as he closed his eyes, clearly amused. "You haven't changed a bit, imouto-chan. I had thought you might avoid the point, but instead you bring it up before I do." But when he looked at me again, the smile was gone, replaced now with a strict seriousness that only he could have. "Yes, you _are_ correct. The solution is evident, but the process itself is complicated; however, so is the problem…"

--

_Where are you?_

The question I had last uttered came back to me in continuous repetition as I stretched my right arm out, searching for something to pull myself up with. My fingers made contact with a cool liquid, which registered in my mind as being out of the ordinary—I was at the foot of a wall…why would there be water here? Suddenly I was gripped by the sensation of falling, and my eyes shot open to reveal what was in front of me: a river. After uncharacteristically flailing a bit, I had a firm hold on the shoreline and could now assess the situation.

I was waist-deep in the cool water, though how I had gotten there I wasn't entirely sure. The river was located in a small valley of some sort, one with plenty of trees to give constant shade and steep walls leading up to the edge of dangerous-looking cliffs. After clambering onto the shore to get a better view, I found that the river was very wide, and therefore took up most of the valley, leaving only just enough space for me to comfortably roam the expanse. Once again I came to the realization that I had no idea how I had gotten here, which brought me back to the question that had been echoing in my mind before regaining consciousness… _Where are you?_ An image of Suki came to mind along with the question, causing me to once again worry about not only her whereabouts, but also how she had reached wherever she was. It was ironic that I now found myself in a similar analogy. More to the point, where was _I_?

Ignoring the nagging questions for the moment, I turned around to glare at the steep, rocky wall of the hill that was before me. It was too high to just jump over, which was disappointing, because that's what I had been planning to do. Giving a heavy sigh, I came to the obvious conclusion that I would just have to climb it.

--

Once again I woke up in a completely different location and having lost any memory of what could have happened from point A to point B. But I didn't realize that I had forgotten until I was briefed on all that had taken place, most of which was unnerving and forced all my other troubles aside.

I opened my eyes to a white room and my teammates hovering over me. Sakura seemed the most concerned, Kakashi was annoyed, and Naruto was both. "You idiot! You could've gotten yourself killed, running off like that!" he practically yelled.

"So I see you're finally awake," was all Kakashi said. I glanced from him to Naruto and back.

"Don't get so angry. I would have been just fine. I _am_ fine."

"Oh, _are_ you?"

I would have glared at Kakashi for his response had it not been for a shock of pain in my right leg. Grimacing in spite of myself, I said, "So I _did_ hurt myself. Okay, but I'm still fine."

"You must not remember what happened," Sakura interjected rather quietly, earning my slightly confused attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Someone showed up demanding to see you. She said she had information regarding Suki-chan. When we said that you had already gone to look for her, she gave an angry smirk and disappeared. We followed her, and by the time we caught up, you two were fighting."

"Fighting? I don't remember that."

"That explains why you seemed to be forgetting how to fight properly. Each time she touched you, you became more and more confused," Kakashi explained.

"She knocked you over the cliff," Sakura continued, "and a few minutes later you came back up, but then…" She bit her bottom lip as if she couldn't quite get the words out. "Then…she…"

"She kissed you," Naruto finished bluntly, putting an end to the tension in the room. But this new piece of information was only serving to worry me even more. I had been fighting? Kissed? I couldn't _remember_ something like that?!

"What else? Did anything else happen?" I asked, directing the question more towards Sakura, because it seemed she was more willing to provide information than the other two. I was right in a sense; she _was_ more willing, but apparently there wasn't much else she could tell me because the tone of finality in her voice made it evident. Her response gave away the truthful summary, but nothing else, and I ceased asking her questions.

"We stepped in…killed her…and you passed out."

In the silence of the moments that followed, I could vaguely remember bits of what I had forgotten. After glaring at the clouds and wondering where Suki was, I had gotten up and headed towards an area of the village I knew wasn't heavily monitored. It was back in the forest, where few went except to train. The memory ended there, but picked back up again with a tall girl wearing a black, hooded cloak that revealed nothing but her face, which was pale, and her green eyes. I could remember using the Sharingan for a few minutes but then not seeing the need to. I couldn't recall any other portion of the fight besides that, except for the part where she kicked me over the cliff and I tumbled down to the river. The duration of my being conscious while climbing back up was still in my memory reserves, but then there was blankness until where the girl had kissed me, and then she was suddenly killed, but I also remembered thinking that it was impossible for her to die, because she was…

"She wasn't an actual person," I said, redirecting the others' attention back to the present, back to me.

"What?" Naruto blurted out, genuinely confused. "But we killed her, right?"

"Yeah," Sakura agreed, nodding her head. "There was blood and everything."

"No, Sasuke's right," Kakashi interrupted. "The real person was probably watching from afar. I'm assuming it was a test run of some sort…perhaps to check our defenses…or, more accurately, _your_ defenses. Therefore, we can also expect that this girl will make her appearance again. And _you_ can't go running off on your own like that again, do you understand?"

I sighed in defeat. "Yes…"

--

The girl blinked her large, green eyes as she watched her flesh clone disappear. She sidestepped on the top of the village wall, turning away from the scene as an echo of a smirk appeared on her face for a brief moment before it vanished along with her physical body. It was pure luck she hadn't been spotted yet, but she was aware of the fact that her inevitable return would be expected, and that Sasuke was going to be confined until his sister returned, which would not make the girl's mission tougher; rather, it would only make it more interesting.

She reappeared on the campus of a large, dark building that was similar in appearance to a castle, but more reserved in outer extravagance. Movement in the northwest tower told the green-eyed girl that word was already on its way that she had arrived, so she immediately dashed forward with lightning speed only to stop at the large front doors, which opened as soon as she came to stand before them, and were shut upon her entry. Pulling back the hood and tearing the cloak off of her body, the girl shook her long, blond hair out and brushed off the front of her black, full-length bodysuit. Four servants scurried in to take her cloak and offer her a brush, a towel, and a drink. She handed the cloak to one servant and accepted the towel from another so she could remove the tiny beads of sweat from her face.

"It really is hot out there," she commented good-naturedly, taking the brush but refusing the drink. "You'd think that in this heat we would be exempted from wearing those heavy cloaks, but no! We still have to wear them…geez…" She took to brushing her hair with gusto, barely noticing that three of the four servants had already left.

"It is for our own identity protection."

The blond glanced over to her left to see a tall, dark-haired girl who was wearing the same black bodysuit, but also had the standard cloak around her shoulders as well. There was a look of disapproval in her icy blue eyes, but the blond merely scoffed at this, smirking as she continued brushing her hair. "No one cares who we are anyway, Kivisu. Why does it even matter?"

"You are still young and immature, Niri. Worse yet, you speak against our master's very words. Do _not_ let it happen again."

Niri rolled her eyes and tossed the brush to the servant, who ran off immediately to put the items in their respective locations. "Okay, okay."

Kivisu led her through the dark, spacious hallways until they had reached the innermost room, where their master was waiting. She pushed one of the large, heavy doors open and gave Niri a meaningful, sideways glare as the blond entered the room. She followed her in, shutting the door behind them.

"Takara, Imane," was all their master said, giving them both acknowledgement, but nothing else. Both girls fell to one knee and bowed.

"Takara Niri, reporting for debriefing," Niri announced importantly.

"Imane Kivisu, reporting for assigning," Kivisu added. Neither girl moved, even after they had finished speaking.

"Niri," the master began, addressing the blond by her first name this time, "you may begin."

"Thank you, Master. I have discovered that our target has little to no defense against my special jutsu, which could be useful in the future. While I did not capture him, it was a good thing I found him at all. If I had not intercepted him when I did, he would have left the village and would have therefore been more difficult to track."

"I see… Go on."

"As it is, he is going to be confined in the hospital until the Chuunin Exams, which I believe will be the perfect time to sneak in and infiltrate the program so as to find more worthy candidates for you to use. In addition, we can put everyone on guard so they will be expecting one thing, but we will give them another."

"_More worthy_ candidates? You speak as if my choice is poor."

"Forgive me, Master, but that was not what I meant. By 'more worthy' I simply mean that there could be other candidates who are just as worthy as our current target. The more people, the more power; is this not correct?"

"You are pardoned, child, but do remember to be more clear next time."

"I shall."

"I am beginning to understand your idea. Continue."

"Very well. Thank you, Master. As I was saying, we can put them on guard but take them by surprise. Perhaps another event could occur to provide distraction, or we could take them by force. In any case, I am sure that we will not fail. The future looks very promising for us, Master."

"I am glad to hear it. And?"

"However, there are some complications, as there would be with any perfect plot. The target is surrounded by strong comrades, which could lessen our chances of succeeding with ease. His sensei is _the_ Kakashi, and his teammates are none other than Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto."

Now _this_ seemed to interest the leader. "The nine-tails brat? Interesting… Let's make him a target too."

"Understood," Kivisu replied.

"Now, is there anything else you wish to inform me of?" the leader continued.

"We might want to make sure our first target's younger sister is out of the way."

"Yes?"

"She has an astounding level of power and would be very difficult to eliminate."

"I see. Then we will wait to destroy her until we have met our first goal…the Ultimate Ninja." It was a while before anyone moved or spoke; the leader was too enthralled with the ideas of what could become to pay attention to their subordinates, and said subordinates could not do anything without an order from their master. When the leader finally came back to the present, it was with a short sentence.

"You are dismissed." Those words were not to be argued with; when you were dismissed, you automatically had nothing left to say, even if you were in the middle of a sentence. Dismissed meant you were to leave without another word, and that was just what Niri and Kivisu did.

Out in the hallway, Niri sighed and whispered to the dark-haired girl, "I still can't figure out if Master is a man or a woman! Which is it? Do you know? Master's voice is too deep to be a woman's, but at the same time, too high to be a man's! And Master always wears that heavy cloak so we can't see Master's face or body…"

"Niri! Master's identity is unknown to all of us. Do not speculate it." And with that, she turned away. "Now, I shall walk you to your room. You are not to emerge until dinner. Understood?"

Niri rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "Yes…" she mumbled, falling into step behind her superior and silently speculating all the way.

--

"…It concerns an organization called the Inner Circle, which is comprised entirely of kunoichi. The Akatsuki organized an alliance of sorts with the Inner Circle, but it's only temporary, as their goals have been unclear up to now."

For once I could not read him; it seemed he had finally mastered the art of hiding emotions and was using this to his advantage now, even though we both knew he didn't need to, which caused me to assume that this was probably out of habit, and for the better, concerning safety. But I was also a master at hiding emotions, and so I concealed my knowing smile, replacing it instead with a blank stare and hardening it so that it reached my eyes. I now understood that he was here on business, not a reunion. I had no grounds to try and reintroduce the comfort and luxury of leisurely discussion, even if I was basing it on the intention of reinstating trust between the two of us. At least for right now, it was not my place. So instead of continuing on in the fashion I had been, I kept the conversation directed on the single, most important topic, and provided my older brother the information I already knew.

"The true intent of the Inner Circle is to dominate the entire shinobi world, and eventually much more," I said. "And to do that, a powerful weapon is needed. I have seen in my visions that they are going to come after Konoha first."

Itachi made no remark about my knowledge this time; he simply continued on like I hadn't even spoken. "I have always been suspicious of their true intent, and I'm sure the others are as well. Their negotiator kept mentioning Akatsuki's benefit in the Ultimate Ninja, which leads me to believe that this 'being' is going to be the cornerstone of this whole operation."

"A living, breathing being," I added, to show that I understood.

"Furthermore, I have confirmed that Sasuke is their target."

This did not surprise me. After all, the Inner Circle probably wanted the Sharingan to back them up, and seeing as Itachi and I would already be ruled out for being too strong to overcome, the only one remaining _would_ be Sasuke. I merely nodded, giving him permission to continue. This was when I saw his control slip and emotion become more apparent on his face, giving away a look of stress and concern. It took him a moment to realize this, but the moment was brief, and before he had finished his next sentence, he was emotionless once more. I couldn't help but smile at this. It only proved that no matter how strong or dangerous you were, even as a shinobi following the strict shinobi guidelines, you could not erase all your emotions…you could never truly lose yourself, no matter how hard you tried.

"That," he said with a faint sigh, "is the problem. Of course, we can't let this come to pass…but for once I'm unsure of _how_."

"True. You can't just show up defending him; he'll only fight you. But…I must ask why you choose now to confirm the fact that you still care. He will want to know."

"When he confronts me, I will tell him myself."

"Are you sure?" I asked, even though it was unnecessary. I was expecting him to change the subject, and as presumed, he did.

"Akatsuki's cause and the Inner Circle's purposes are conflicting. This is the secondary intent of my being here. And…there is something else I want your opinion on…I'm not sure if you already know or not…"

I was mildly surprised to see Itachi behaving more the way I had originally been wanting him to. I could read him much easier now, and could tell that he was being more open with me, although why I wasn't entirely sure. Moreover, I had a feeling that whatever he was asking me about now was something I did not already know, and when he told me what it was, I was thoroughly shocked.

"I-Itachi-niisan…what have you been _doing_?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: _Naruto_ is not mine. Suki is. xP**

Chapter 4

It was in the late afternoon, just before the designated time visiting hours would end, when Suki returned. Her entry was short and swift, and her arrival was just as sudden as her departure one day ago. Her abrupt return was unexpected, but very much welcomed, for within minutes of reaching the hospital doors, she ran into the other members of Team Seven.

"H-Hey!" Naruto all but shouted, pointing up at her from his position on the floor. "You're back!"

Suki blinked in slight surprise, taking a moment to let the fact that she had just crashed into Naruto register in her brain. With a somewhat distracted smile, she said, "I am. Was I missed?"

"Oh, it was crazy!" Naruto replied, jumping up and dusting himself off. "Sasuke was pretty much on the verge of panic or something… He ran off like he was gonna find you on his own and then some horrible stuff happened, so he's…"

Suki's dark eyes narrowed at the phrase 'horrible stuff', but a quick blink cleared the obsidian orbs from showing her anger. Relaxing the muscles in her face, Suki cut the blond off with her next statement. "I know he's here in the hospital; I know he was attacked. You don't have to tell me. You may continue on your way now." She sidestepped around the group and made to head down the hallway, but was stopped with multiple yells. Turning back to face the owners of those yells, she asked, "What is it?"

"He was worried about you! Don't you care about that?!" Naruto blurted, not caring how loud his voice was. "This is all your fault, and you're acting like it's no big deal!"

"Yeah," Sakura chimed in. "Why did you leave in the first place?! If you hadn't gone, this wouldn't have happened!"

"I'm sorry, but you're wrong about that. I do care, and that is why I am going to see him now. As for why I left, well, I had to take care of an urgent matter which concerns the incident that landed him here in the first place. And no, actually, the move would have been made whether I was here or not."

This quieted the two genin down, but didn't erase the contempt from their faces. "Wh-What's going on?" Sakura asked after a moment of tension-filled silence.

Suki shook her head. "I can't tell you much now, but you will come to see later."

In the blink of an eye, she was gone again.

--

Boredom really is a scary thing. Especially when the blank, white slab of ceiling starts to become interesting.

I blinked to wipe away the pictures that my eyes had already drawn there, and then started drawing again. Memories of yesterday were still patchy and clouded, and yet they were all I could think about. Who was that girl and why was she chasing me? What technique had she used? Why had she…kissed me? The questions seemed to have no end…and unfortunately I had nothing to distract me from them…until I heard quick, light footsteps in the hallway, which probably meant that someone was going to come in to talk to or test on me. I tore my eyes away from the ceiling and forced myself into a sitting position (despite the protests my body made) to face whomever was at the door, but a moment later I found myself to be partially wrong on who was entering and what their intentions were as the door opened to reveal Suki, of all people.

She smiled a soft yet brilliant smile and darted over to me, throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a gentle hug. "Sasuke-nii…"

"Suki-chan…"

Suki pulled away and took a step back, placing her hands in front of her, lacing her fingers together, and giving me a concerned look with sad eyes that made me feel guilty before she even spoke. "You weren't worried, were you?" she asked quietly, although I think she already knew the answer.

I gave her a mild glare in response. "Of course I was! What, did you think you could just up and leave without telling me?!"

At this her smile returned, and she let her hands fall to her sides. "If I had told you, you wouldn't have listened."

"But how can you expect me to trust you after all this?!"

"Everything happens for a reason, nii-chan! And that is why I am telling you now."

Suki took a deep breath before beginning her explanation, which, in my opinion, was way overdue. Her gaze was both hard _and_ soft, impenetrable yet revealing all at the same time, and it remained downcast for most of the time she was talking, except for a few occasional glances at my face. I, however, didn't take my eyes off of her for even a second…I didn't want to risk missing anything.

"I left mere moments after you shut the door in my face, but only because I had sensed Itachi's presence near the Konoha entrance gates. I quickly met up with him and he relayed important information regarding your security. It has to do with what happened to you yesterday."

The information, while important, didn't mean as much to me as a factor in Suki's first sentence: Itachi. She had met up with him?! What if he had wanted to kill her?! And if he was this close…why couldn't I go ahead and kill _him_? Apparently Suki sensed my irritation, because here she looked up at me to give me a reassuring look before continuing.

"The girl deployed was part of a strictly-kunoichi organization called the Inner Circle. Their plan is to overpower and eventually dominate the entire shinobi land…and then to dominate the world." Here her gaze drifted away from me as she looked down again. "They are going to create something known as the Ultimate Ninja, which will assist them in their plans. They are coming after you because you have the Sharingan…and Itachi came to warn me so I could protect you…"

I had heard enough. "Itachi doesn't want anything to do with me! Or you! Don't you realize he's the one who killed our clan, who took away everything we ever had?! How can you say he wants to protect me when you and I both know that it's probably all just a lie?!"

Suki chuckled. "I had known you wouldn't be receptive to this information, but I didn't think it would be this bad…"

I scowled. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sasuke-nii-chan, you don't understand. But you will in time."

"No, you're the one who doesn't understand! You're…you're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Itachi-niisan is our brother, silly, and you of all people know I can do more than assumed of me. I know for a fact that everything he said was truth."

There was no point in arguing with her anymore. I knew that no matter what I said, she believed she was right, and there was nothing I could do to make her change her mind. Finally I replied, "I believe that you met up with him. I believe that you know what you're doing. But I refuse to believe that he's here to protect me."

Suki looked up and smiled at me again. "I'll take that."

Our attention was diverted by three sharp taps on the door, which was opened immediately after by a woman with brown hair and a nurse's outfit. "Suki-san! Visiting hours are over…I'm afraid you'll have to leave now."

Suki nodded politely before coming back to me with another hug. "It was nice to talk to you, nii-chan," she said. "I hope you can forgive me soon. Oh, and heal up good, okay? We don't want you to miss the Chuunin Exams, do we?" At this she planted a kiss on my cheek. In half a moment, she was at the door, and with a wave and a "See you later!" she was out of sight. I gave a heavy sigh and fell back against the bed again.

"Goodbye…"

--

Suki left the room with a quaint smile on her face, somehow feeling more peaceful now than she had when she'd first entered. At least now her brother knew what was going on. Maybe he had learned a lesson from all this and would be more careful in the future, but Suki doubted it. He was stubborn to admit to a truth that he had not contended, and even more unwilling to accept it when he was in the wrong. He could easily validate himself with the standard excuses of being worried or concerned, of claiming it unfair that Suki had left without telling him, but in fact, even if he had been petrified at her absence, it was his choice to go off on his own to look for her. Basically, the situation he was in now was his own fault.

But Suki knew, of course, that he wouldn't admit that, and that was okay. He had her.

Just as she turned the last corner, she sensed a large amount of irritation, and easily found the source straight ahead. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were standing by the front doors, right where she had left them. Suki raised an eyebrow a bit at this, but passed it off as nothing more than the vibes they were giving off—they were a bit annoyed with her, but she didn't mind it. She'd had legitimate reasons for leaving, and for coming back. Why were they so upset? Probably because she had left and returned with no notice whatsoever, and could be seen to be messing in dangerous territory. However, she did not speak any of her musings out loud when she approached the group with a soft smile and a quiet gaze. In fact, all she said was:

"May I help you?"

"Yeah," Naruto said immediately, ready to start up a fight again. "You can start by telling us what's going on."

Suki blinked. "Did I not say that you will come to see it later?"

"That's not much of an explanation," Sakura all but growled.

Kakashi nodded. "They _are_ right; you obviously went to gather information, and have relayed it to Sasuke; why not us?"

The youngest Uchiha glanced around before saying in a low voice, "We cannot stay here to discuss it, but I will tell you what I can. The rest of which will be taken care of by me."

The look on Naruto's face was still quite skeptic, and still very angry, but the other two seemed to be satisfied, although Sakura looked a bit uneasy. For once, Suki wasn't sure what to say. She had to give them enough information to make it useful, but she also had to conceal the source, and that would be hard to do under the innocent pretense of 'gathering information' when her sources were visions and Itachi. The visions wouldn't be believed, and if she mentioned Itachi she would get a reaction similar to Sasuke's—not to mention she'd probably end up in a lot of unwanted trouble. So…how could she get out of this?

She ended up settling for a place not too far from the hospital, but at least in a mildly remote area, because Naruto and Sakura kept nagging her the whole way, even going so far as to asking identity questions. 'Are you really even Suki at all?' Suki gave a slight shake of her head. This was getting to be a bit too ridiculous…she couldn't let it escalate.

Sitting down on a bench across from the others, Suki gave them a coherent, neutral face that would lead them into believing she was trying to hide something, but that she would be honest with every word she said. Hiding a small smirk she pointed out to herself that it was actually complete sincerity, because she _was_ trying to hide something and she _was_ going to be honest with everything she said…so while it would appear as though she was merely putting on a show, there wasn't going to be any faking at all. "So," she began, starting the conversation with a clear point, "what do you want to know?"

"For starters, how about a concise summary of the reason you left?" Kakashi suggested, leaving Suki to nod and answer slowly, because she had to choose her words wisely.

"I left because I sensed a disturbance…a presence nearby that could cause harm to the village easily…but it seemed more like they were after a specific person. I departed immediately so I could intercept the potential intruder and lead them away from the village."

"So you just wanted to protect everybody," Sakura said quietly, making it clear that she understood. "Did you find out who it was?"

"No, but I did find out what they were up to."

"And just what was that?" Naruto interrupted, eyes narrowed.

"The first steps taken in true action of a…conspiracy."

"A conspiracy against whom?" Sakura interjected almost without realizing it.

"Well…everyone, really. The person belonged to an organization called the Inner Circle, whose primary goal is to create the ultimate weapon to overpower the village leaders and take control."

"And how did you find out all of this?" Kakashi asked. Suki almost flinched at his tone of voice. It was…not quite, but almost…suspicious. Lucky for her, a response was already on her tongue, and she was able to utter a believable lie without pausing or stuttering at all.

"I kept well-hidden and listened in to a conversation."

"How many people were there?"

"Only two." Okay, so that part wasn't exactly lying. There _had_ been a conversation, but it was between her and Itachi, not a suspect and a master.

"Did you find out anything else?"

"The girl who attacked Sasuke will most definitely return."

"What does she want?!" Naruto practically yelled.

"Shh, I'm not sure, probably his talents…and his Sharingan."

"Don't you have those too?!"

"Calm down! They wouldn't come after me. Their chakra levels are far too low…they couldn't possibly overpower me."

"Yeah, I know that—still totally ridiculous, but whatever—and I mean why…" The words died in his throat at the look Suki was giving him right then. It was nothing but seriousness, and a warning to keep quiet. The dark, threatening look never leaving her eyes, Suki answered, "And that is all I can tell you. Make note of this: whatever moves we make next will determine the outcome of this situation. I'd like us all to make it out alive."

And with that, she stood up and walked away, leaving all three nin speechless.

--

While the matter of Suki's unexpected reappearance lingered, most people were more concerned about the people she had tracked and the organization they belonged to. Were their true intentions really to…take over the world? And if so, why? It didn't seem like a very good ambition. But more importantly, just who were the members of the Inner Circle…and who was the leader? Suki could give none of these answers not primarily because she refused to, but because she really did not know. She wasn't even concerned with Itachi's side of the deal, or whether the Inner Circle needed to be completely destroyed or not. All that mattered to her was keeping Sasuke safe.

Within two days of ending up in the hospital, said Sasuke was back on his feet and doing just fine…although he would still have to deal with some minor pain in a few areas for at least another week, something which Suki was intent on fixing. For, in addition to being an excellent shinobi with powerful Sharingan and a strong bloodline, she also had healing abilities.

"I can't believe you hid _this _from me too!" Sasuke practically growled, glaring at his younger sister through the green glow being emitted from her hands. "Is this something you learned without me knowing, or another one of those things you were born with?"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-nii…this, too, is something I was born with."

"Hn," was the reply as her brother sharply turned his head in the other direction so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"What would have been the use if I had told you?" Suki continued, pointedly ignoring her sibling's behavior. "You would still be angry. And what could I have healed for you? Your heart?"

All the anger suddenly left him in a torrent of mixed feelings—disbelief, shock, fear—but the one feeling that caused the others churned in his core and was wrapped within a definite wall of…what, guilt? And that was the feeling of knowing that it wasn't even a feeling at all—it was truth. There was truth to that statement, and it stung. Could Suki have healed his heart? Was that what she was trying to do? _Does my heart even _need_ to be healed?_ Sasuke asked himself, but it was an unnecessary question. He already knew the answer, but again, he didn't want to admit it. He didn't like the concept of being broken…nothing worked if it didn't have all the pieces. But was it weakness? Or was it something completely unrelated?

Sasuke flinched. Without realizing it, he had returned his gaze to his sister's face, and had been staring into her eyes for a full three minutes; and so upon discovering this it had given him a jolt, and his heart rate had sped up considerably. But now, as Suki smiled earnestly, he calmed down again only to blink in surprise when the girl spoke some very familiar words out loud in such a sugary sweet voice it almost seemed poetic: "Nothing works if it doesn't have all the pieces," she practically sang. "So someone has to find them, and put them back together again."

--

The Chuunin Exams began a few days later, and luckily, everything was running smoothly so far. No outsiders other than the competitors had been spotted, and it looked like there would be no hitches in Itachi's plan. He was going to show up disguised as some guy who had gone missing several years ago but had been long since forgotten. And he was already well within the village walls…I just hoped that all our precautions would be nothing more than precautions…I didn't want the conspiracy to be true. I didn't want to believe it. But, for Sasuke's (and everyone else's) sake, I had to.

Describing the Exams in great detail is something nearly impossible to do, but only because of the sheer complexity of all that transpired during that first day.

We entered Room 301 together; Sasuke's team in front, and my team close behind. As soon as the doors were closed, I quickly moved forward to calm the rising tension I could feel surrounding my friends. The moment I stepped in front of Team Seven, a hush fell over the crowd. Every single person who was in that room turned and laid eyes on me. Retracing my thoughts and gathering my self-confidence, I spoke.

"Each beating heart holds a reserve of life. Cherish that, and live…for the time will come when snow will heal the wounds of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…and when that time comes, you must be ready."

I spun on my heel to face my brother, who looked at me with genuine shock, as if to say I was crazy for talking to these people I didn't even know. But I just gave him my trademark smile, knowing my next statement would fill his heart up and leave him that way for the rest of the day: "Aishiteru, Sasuke-nii."

--

At the start of the exam, all was pretty much quiet, save for some's figeting and the scratch of others' pencils marking their papers. I noticed that several people kept glancing up at the clock hanging at the front of the room, and so I naturally followed suit. Only two minutes had passed…why did it feel like hours?

I looked back at my very blank answer sheet again. How in the world were we supposed to know the answers to those outrageously confusing questions? It made sense to test us over our current knowledge…that would probably help determine our usefulness as a probable Chuunin candidate…but was it necessary to make the questions so difficult they couldn't be answered? It was almost like we were _supposed _to cheat.

I glanced up at the clock again to find that almost ten minutes had passed since I'd last looked, which was a bit of a shock. Those first two minutes had felt like hours…why did it seem time was speeding up now that I had realized the difficulty of the test? Was it panic? No, but it was a few steps short. I was concerned. I had no idea what Naruto would do to get the answers, but I figured Sakura could probably answer at least a few of them. The question was, would we be able to make it out with enough points to continue on? Probably not…unless we could cheat without getting caught.

Suddenly my thoughts flitted to Suki and my eyes followed. She was as calm as ever, and was looking down at her paper, writing up a storm. Jealousy sprang up within me again. How could my sister be smarter than me?

"How?"

I blinked. Did that whisper belong to me or someone else?

"It's not…no, it is."

Okay, that definitely wasn't me. In fact, it was the guy sitting next to me. In half a second I found myself going from just glancing at him to actually _looking_. He had short, black hair, violet eyes, and tense shoulders, and he was muttering to himself so quietly it could barely even be called a whisper. When my eyes had unconsciously drifted down towards his paper I first noticed that he was wearing dark purple fingerless gloves underneath his long-sleeved black shirt, then that he had stopped writing, then that he had covered up his paper, and finally that a proctor was scratching something down. It was then I realized that I had been blatantly _staring_ at the paper, which could be called cheating, even if I hadn't read anything off of it in the first place.

The guy's eyes were on me; I could feel it. Just that knowledge sparked an uneasy feeling spiraling in my stomach; nevertheless I lifted my head to meet his gaze. The action was done somewhat hesitantly, since I had the odd feeling that I didn't have much of a choice, and I wasn't sure why it seemed that way. As soon as we made eye contact I looked away, feeling slightly disturbed and very nervous. The guy must have noticed, because hardly a second later he scribbled something on the top of his paper and nudged it towards me in a not-so-obvious manner that left me a bit confused and reluctant to look for fear I would get points deducted again. Finally I decided to chance it and glanced at what he'd written in the blank space between the test title and the edge of the page:

'Calm down,' it said. 'In theory, I'm not your enemy.'

In theory?

* * *

**Author's Note**

Wow. I am SO SORRY for not updating for almost two months!! I had a lot of stuff going on and it was really hard for me to find time, focus, and inspiration to write. I just wasn't in the mood for it. In fact, this particular chapter was nearly finished but sat on my computer for nearly two weeks before I finally sat down and finished it. I promise that future chapters will not take so long to appear. And since I also have some new fanfictions (to be uploaded soon), they should keep you busy until this fic's next chapter comes out. Lol. x3 Enjoy~


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**

I can't believe that this story hasn't been updated since last year...so many things have been going on, I just didn't write in this story. I have been writing others, though~ Honestly, I was stuck at this chapter because of what originally occurred in it... (you'll understand once you get to the end...at least, you should, lol) and was avoiding it, really. But then I got a review, and it really made my day...I ended up writing this chapter in two days! Thank you so much, Who Is It The Devil Prod., for reviewing and inspiring this chapter!

What was originally supposed to happen in this chapter isn't going to happen next chapter, but you won't have to wait for it very long because it's right at the beginning... Also, I'm REALLY disliking the original in comparison to what's going on with the story now... Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The long, dark hallway was illuminated by the flame of a single candle held by the trembling hands of a young girl and casting meager amounts of light on the scene surrounding her. Washed-out, faded pictures and tapestries clung to the dry, rocky walls, offering no beauty or intrigue as decorations—only layers of dust and a musty smell. The floor was cold and the ceiling high. It was in this place that the girl lived; the place where her dream had been born. She had spent many nights in utter isolation, waiting for her chance to come…and now…

Now…

Golden yellow eyes opened suddenly in the darkness, the candlelight glowing softly on them, casting a tiny reflection in slitted pupils as the owner of those eyes stared at the candle before blowing it out and lying down to go back to sleep. "It was only a dream," came whispered reassurance, "…Nothing more. It never was, and it never will be."

The statement brought ease to the person's heart and sleep came quickly after…a deep, rejuvenating sleep that remained dreamless for the rest of the night.

-x-x-x-

Meanwhile, Niri was padding back and forth in her room, trying to figure out just who their master could be. All this time, she'd been convinced it was a man, probably just out of assumption, since it seemed men were the ones who ran things such as this. But now she was starting to doubt herself. What _if_ Master was a woman? Would that change anything? Probably not. As Kivisu had said, it wasn't any of their business and wasn't something that required mulling over. But then again, why were they all working for someone they didn't even know? Niri was a bit startled at the sudden thought. Perhaps Master was deceiving them all…or would be. But why? And that just led to more and more questions…questions Niri didn't have the energy to ask. It was already after two in the morning and she needed to rest. She could bother someone with her curiosity during tomorrow's training session.

-x-x-x-

My eyes shifted over to look at my brother, who seemed to be in deep thought. It didn't look as though he was concentrating on the test though, which meant something else had grabbed his attention. And when my brother's attention shifts, it takes a lot to get it back to where it was originally.

In this case, the young man sitting next to my brother was the cause of the attention shift. Briefly I wondered if Sasuke had already figured out it was Itachi, but realized he probably hadn't, because he didn't look angry. This was in and of itself a good thing, since the plan was to take out the Inner Circle as fast as possible without Itachi revealing himself. The slightly unnerving thing was that I didn't know why Sasuke seemed to be so distracted. What had Itachi done?

I turned back to my own test, tucking a lock of black hair behind my ear only to have it fall right back in front of my eyes. My current progress wasn't very promising. I'd only managed to answer four questions without doubt. I had guessed on question number nine, and I couldn't figure out the answers to the rest of them. Especially the second one. Irritated, I tapped my pencil on the desk a few times before putting it down and sighing.

_I give up… I've done my best…At least I know for sure I got four of them right._

There was still some time before the tenth question would be announced, so I began to let my mind wander. Immediately the plan to save both Sasuke and the village rushed back to me along with the worry of failure, and I shoved it all aside for now. I needed to think about something else.

The tense silence that had gently settled over the room was shattered instantly when the doors at the back of the room were thrown open with a loud BANG.

…Or I could just focus on whatever the heck was happening now.

There were three new faces in the doorway; one belonging to a woman with dark brown hair. The other two were men, one taller than the woman and one the same height. All three were wearing ANBU-like outfits, but it was evident that they weren't our ANBU…perhaps another village's?

"I'm sorry!" was the first thing out of the girl's mouth, and I raised an eyebrow. If she had to come here with such an entry, she needed to have something important to say, and 'I'm sorry' was not at the top of the list.

"Iya!" the taller man panted.

"Sister, you could have waited for them to finish!" cried the other.

Iya shook her head and yelled out again: "I'm truly sorry to interrupt, Ibiki-san, but there's a very troubling issue at hand that needs to be seen to immediately!"

Ibiki showed no signs of caring. "And what would this be?"

"He's here! That traitor…" she paused a moment, as if it was hurting her to relay the information. "Itachi's here!"

Konoha ninja began to murmur.

I resisted glancing in my brother's direction at the sound of his name. Now there really was potential for a "troubling issue." How had they found out? Or did they not know he was using a henge? If that was the case, the plan was still safe…mostly…

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke stand, and looked at him without thinking; his eyes were wide and his posture tense, and even from this distance I could easily see all the emotions flickering across his face. Shock, anger, excitement…fear?

"He was trailing someone," Iya continued. "Someone who was wiped from the current Bingo Book because he went missing, but he's recently shown up again. That person could be here, and since Itachi is following…he could very well be here too."

"Very well," Ibiki answered, "We will keep our guards up for now."

"But…!"

"This portion of the exam is nearly over. Even criminals like Itachi know not to interrupt these exams, as important as they are; _you_, Nokenawa Iya, will be dealt with afterwards."

Iya looked shaken at that statement, but it only silenced her for a minute at most. "Ibiki-san, we could all be…!"

One of the other proctors spoke up. "Iya-san, you are speaking out of turn. If it will make a difference, we will postpone the final three stages of the exam until after the situation you're talking about has been resolved. However, this one should be finished now."

The woman was getting panicked. "Just listen to me!"

The proctor spoke again, this time to the two men standing behind Iya. "Yue, Gaiji. Escort her to the Hokage Tower at once."

"But we're all in danger!" Iya whined.

Something told me I needed to go to my brothers now, and soon I found out why.

-x-x-x-

I knew Suki was in a different row from me, but I couldn't spot her among the crowd. So I couldn't see what expression she might have had on her face when that annoying woman came in yelling about _him_. Briefly I thought back to what she had told me about _him_ wanting to protect me; would he really?

_Feh! It's a lie. Why would he care about me anyway? He spared me that night, but only so that I could avenge the clan… He wouldn't have cared otherwise…what's different now?_

I barely noticed Kakashi appear near me, at the back of the room, but he was able to make eye contact with me, which I guess was what he was trying to do. _'Don't try anything stupid_,' he seemed to say. _As if I would,_ I sneered back. Suki, too, was at my side in an instant, hugging me tightly as either reassurance or restraint; I wasn't sure which.

A strange aura fell over the room, causing a momentary hush in the 'is Itachi really here?' muttering.

Then, suddenly, everything went black. There was a huge commotion as people started shouting and moving about, tripping over desks, benches, chairs…even themselves. All of it rushed over me with the pressure of a ten-story tidal wave, and rooted me to the spot. _Is this what it feels like to be claustrophobic?_ I wondered absently amidst the panic of the surrounding genin. It sounded like the Chuunin and Jounin were trying to calm everyone down, but obviously it wasn't working…and _Itachi_…where was he?

Suddenly, Suki disappeared, and her arms were replaced with someone else's. Startled, I reached out to find her, but the palm of my hand immediately came into contact with the skin of someone else. Obviously not my sister, this person was taller than me and smelled of some sort of perfume. The person smacked my hand away from wherever it had landed and snatched up both my wrists in two fairly large hands; trying to simply pull free wasn't going to work here because whoever this was had an iron grip. So instead I settled for momentary consent, deciding to wait until that grip was loosened so I could escape.

"So you're Uchiha Sasuke, huh." It was a woman's voice. "Shame you're so young. I would rather show off my power to a guy twice your age… Hey! Kiori! Kivisu! Niri! Get over here! And for goodness sake, turn those lights back on!"

There were a few shouts and more loud shuffling as the people she had called made their way over to us. I heard an angry, unintelligible outburst from Naruto and a desperate "Sasuke-nii!" from my sister, which I tried to reciprocate only to receive a slap so hard it actually sent me to my knees. The woman yanked me up again and I stumbled into her.

"We've removed everyone the from the building and sealed all the exits," someone announced in a low voice.

"Sasuke's little sister is trapped outside, along with the two accompanying her. However, Uzumaki and Haruno are still in here, as Master commanded, and somehow that one guy got back in," another person added.

"And Niri is ready with the breaker if you are ready to reveal…"

"For the love of gravy, just do it already! You know I can't stand being in the dark so long!" the woman holding me snapped. I smirked to myself. Gravy?

"Sorry!" Niri yelled from a distance. There was a loud CLANK and the lights came back on. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust…and when they did, I wished the lights would go out again.

I was surrounded by girls.

The hands that were currently cutting off the blood flow to my hands had purple fingernails with little white flowers in one corner of every tip, and belonged to a somewhat buff woman with shoulder-length black hair and golden eyes. Past her (I couldn't quite see over her shoulder), on the left, I spotted my teammates lingering near the doors, and the guy who had been sitting next to me was with them. To my right were the two girls Kivisu and Kiori; one had dark hair that could have been either black or brown (heck, maybe even blue), and the other had black hair. There was another girl farther away, with cinnamon-colored hair, and yet another (this one was blond) was just entering the room. The brunette yelled at her as a greeting.

"Geez, Niri! You always take so long!"

"Well, I don't see you guys doing anything either!" Niri retorted. "And hey, Risako, you'd better ease up there or the poor kid's hands are gonna explode. And we're not supposed to collect blood."

Niri, like all the other girls in this 'group,' was wearing some sort of ANBU-like combat outfit…black and dark purple. In place of the ANBU symbol that would have been on her arm had she truly been ANBU was simply a small circle inside a larger circle… Did this mean…? Were they part of the Inner Circle?

The numbness that had begun to grow painful started to subside as Risako loosened her hold on my wrists. I tensed slowly, preparing to wrench free and either attack or run (I was still trying to decide which), but I didn't move my arms just yet. After all, I'd need a bit more slack to pull away without severely hurting myself. Unfortunately, that moment in which I decided to wait until I received more slack was the moment Niri and the brunette walked over to complete the circle; the moment the girls decided to act.

"All right! We've got…"

"Risako-sama, wouldn't it be best to eliminate the onlookers? They're bound to try and stop us sooner or later."

"Urusai! The only one we'd have to worry about isn't here, Kivisu! Don't cut me off when I'm talking!"

"G-Gomen," Kivisu apologized, bowing her dark head.

"Now, as I was saying, we've got two of our targets here in the room, so it would be best if…"

"Risako! I have a question, ze!" the other black-haired girl interrupted, raising one hand high in the air.

"MOU, Kiori, WHAT?"

"Who is our other target, ze?"

All the others facepalmed.

"The Uzumaki brat," Niri answered. "Hey, even _I_ knew that."

Kiori scratched the back of her head in embarrassment while I took the opportunity and broke away from Risako, kicking her away and dodging Kiori and Kivisu to get to the door.

"You idiots!" Risako yelled.

Neither Naruto nor Sakura spoke to me, but we all sprinted down the hallway towards the nearest exit…forgetting one tiny but important detail.

"It won't open!" Sakura complained, pushing against the barrier between us and our freedom. "They were right. They really did seal all the exits."

"Guess we'll just have to fight 'em, then," Naruto surmised, but I think even he knew we probably wouldn't win. We wouldn't have any time to think up a plan of any sort either, because Risako and Kivisu suddenly appeared behind us.

"You have nowhere to run," Kivisu taunted us. Sakura had a brave moment and threw a few kunai, all of which missed her target once the girl tackled…Naruto? One of the kunai did hit Risako, though, who had clumsily tried to block and failed. _She must not be a distance fighter,_ I thought. _But…_ Sakura squealed and jumped out of the way as the tall woman barreled towards her, the wall being what absorbed impact from a powerful punch.

…_she's very strong._

"Come on, Sasuke, don't you want to play?"

I activated my Sharingan and sped past Risako, heading back down the hallway to Room 301. I would have to ignore her for now; at least I could outrun her…maybe hide in one of the other rooms.

Me hiding. Wow. How pathetic.

I ended up going straight back to Room 301, only to remember that my teammates were still… I'd thought the girls would follow me, but…

"Oh, hello again," the brunette girl smirked at me. "I see you couldn't run away after all."

"Shut up," I growled.

"Aw, how cute. Talking like that, ze…" Kiori remarked, a smirk on her face as well.

"What do you want from-OOF." My demand was cut short due to Sakura slamming into me from behind. I had to fight to keep myself from toppling over from the impact. "What the heck?" I yelled at her.

"I'm sorry, but…but…they're…"

"Think you can take me down that easily? HA! Take this!" That was Naruto's voice, overconfident as always.

Sakura and I exchanged glances. There was a loud CLANK…and the lights went out. Again.

And that was followed by what sounded like a gigantic explosion.

"Waaaaah! Ow, there's a wall there," I heard Naruto say.

We facepalmed. "Naruto…" Sakura sighed, "You idiot." She found my hand and clasped it tightly in her own, but of course not as tightly as Risako had been holding me. For once I didn't shy away from her touch.

"Uhhh…OI! GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU?" Naruto yelled out.

"TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON, SOMEONE!" Risako screamed. I smirked again. To think, a ninja who was afraid of the dark? Ridiculous. "I COMMAND YOU TO, NOW!"

"SORRY!" Naruto replied (to my surprise). "I KINDA BROKE IT."

"YOU BROKE THE LIGHTS? YOU DEMON! I WILL KILL YOU!"

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT, LADY! YOUR OTHER GIRL PERSON THREW SOME STUFF AT ME AND IT BLEW UP."

"Grrrrr…KIVISUUUUUUUUU!"

Sakura actually laughed, but I remembered that there were enemies in this room and they were probably standing right behind us or something cliché like that. And…they were. When Sakura's fingers were disentangled from mine, I spun around to defend myself, but with the darkness _and_ the girls' speed, I found myself recaptured. This time, however, one of the girls slid my headband down to cover my eyes…probably to prevent use of Sharingan.

Naruto yelled out again, and Sakura answered, which surprised me because I knew she had been captured as well. Her captor struggled with her a bit before managing to silence her, but not before Naruto found us. Sort of.

"Oi! You guys in here?"

"Yes, baka," I answered, and my mouth was immediately covered by a thin hand. "Silence, ze," the girl, whom I now recognized to be Kiori, hissed.

"Yeah…but…like…where?"

"You know that when it's so dark you can't even see your hand in front of your face, small distances seem so much greater?" Niri, who was holding Sakura hostage, asked the group light-heartedly.

"Yeah, why?" Honestly. Naruto was so stupid…

"They're right in front of you, moron," said Kivisu, probably from behind Naruto.

"Uwaah! Where'd you come from?"

"KIVISUUUU! TURN THESE FREAKING LIGHTS BACK ON!"

"Oh. She's still alive," commented Naruto absently.

"Of course she is!" That was the voice of that brunette. "Being in the dark can't kill a person."

"You never know," was Naruto's response. "Besides, she's totally freaked out. What if she plowed through the wall like a bull or something?" He laughed to himself at the thought. "That would be hilarious! Well, if we could see, that is."

Everyone was probably rolling their eyes along with me.

"I AM NOT A BULL, YOU ORANGE BLOB!" Even though Naruto didn't reply to that, I knew he was offended by it. It was probably just from shock that he didn't say anything. Smirking against Kiori's palm, I calmly awaited whatever would happen next. Perhaps I could use a substitution jutsu or something… "KIVISU!" Risako continued to yell. "Oh. Wait. What's this?"

"Eh?" Kivisu answered in confusion.

I heard a whirring sound and a few more 'clank's before light started shining through the space in between my headband and face. The lights were back on? "I found the back-up generator!" Risako shouted joyfully. "Now…" I heard her footsteps getting louder, and finally her demanding voice announced, "Let's get on with the show."

-x-x-x-

I honestly had no idea what was going on, had no idea what to expect, had no idea what to do… After being pulled away from Sasuke I had been worried about what might have been done to him, and like Niri said, he'd felt so far away in the blanket of darkness. But now that the lights were on again, I could see that we weren't but a few steps apart. He wasn't close enough where I could reach out and touch him, but just knowing that he was okay made that okay too.

Kiori was standing behind him, her left arm wrapped tightly around his middle while her right hand was clamped against his mouth. His headband was covering his eyes, and…he was just…standing there…not even attempting to break free. His hands were at his sides…so empty…

I'd held his hand…and he hadn't tried to shove me off…so did that mean he liked me? Or was it just because he didn't want to have to go looking for me if I'd gotten lost in the dark? _Still, he resisted when Niri grabbed me and my hand left his…didn't he?_ I smiled inwardly. Maybe he did care about me after all.

Niri stood behind me, hands mashed against my mouth uncomfortably, only she was using both hands to do it. I was gripping her wrists with my own hands, occasionally trying to yank hers away, but she was too strong. Unfortunately, this meant that I couldn't do anything to help Sasuke _or_ Naruto, who was probably going to end up being subdued by that brown-haired girl. _And he's the only one free right now besides that random guy… Speaking of, why is he just standing there? He could be helping us out! Unless he works for them…_

"Aia! Watch out!" Kivisu warned when Naruto tried to attack the brunette from behind. Aia whirled around and knocked his feet out from underneath him before pinning him to the ground.

"Finally…" Risako sighed to herself. "Alright! Great work, girls. Now, I will watch the girl and…that guy over there… You can decide amongst yourselves who gets who." She walked over to the guy and tried to grab him, but he slid out of the way. She tried again and failed, then aimed a punch that also failed. So they began to fight.

"Well, it looks like Risako-sama is busy, so who will watch the girl?" Kivisu asked her teammates.

_I have a name, you know,_ I thought bitterly.

Niri dropped her hands from my mouth, letting her arms drape over my shoulders. "Meh, I've been holding onto her this whole time. My hands hurt. I call Sasuke!"

Sasuke flinched slightly at this and I, now being free to talk, spoke quietly: "Sasuke-kun…It's okay…" It wasn't, of course, but somehow saying that it was made me feel better, and I hoped it would help him too.

The guy whose name I still didn't know suddenly sent Risako flying into the wall, causing all of us to turn and stare in surprise. Risako pushed herself to her feet and bellowed, "Oh, now you're getting it! I won't let you leave here alive!" She charged at him, fist poised to strike. He merely narrowed his eyes at her.

"I would have to disagree," he said in a smooth voice, effortlessly catching her fist and flipping her over his shoulder. At the last moment he jumped up and roundhoused her back into the wall she'd just hit.

"Soooo anyway, I pick Sasuke-chan too, ze," Kiori said, redirecting everyone's attention. My brow furrowed a bit after seeing Sasuke start to struggle a bit. Kiori opted for trapping one of his hands rather than covering his mouth, and tightened her grip around his middle, causing him to gasp slightly.

"Kivisu-san, will you choose him too? Because I would also like to…" Aia interjected before Kivisu could say anything. Goodness—all four of them wanted him?

"Since you were able to take out the Uzumaki brat, I'll let you. Niri! Hand the girl over."

"Right-o!" Niri shoved me towards Kivisu, who caught me and tied me up with special wire. Aia then dragged Naruto over to us, following Niri while Kivisu bent one of Naruto's arms behind his back and put him in a headlock. He had an angry look on his face, but he didn't say anything. He could break out of that easily…why wasn't he? Were we really going to let these people do this to Sasuke? Whatever 'this' was… I got the feeling that I really wasn't going to like what was about to happen…

Meanwhile, Risako and the guy were moving their fight into other rooms; they barreled past us and shot down the hallway, Risako yelling all the way. _I really hope that guy beats her…whoever he is…_ I thought, biting my lip in nervousness. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke was trying to escape…and I couldn't…why weren't they trying?

"C-Come on, you guys…we can get out of this…" I mumbled.

"We can't get out of the building, though," Naruto replied quietly, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.

"He's right," Kivisu added with a grin, "and none of you can defeat us as normal. Don't worry though. We're not going to kill either of your boyfriends. We just need a few things from them."

"…What?" was all I managed to come up with.

I then saw Kiori position herself directly in front of my crush, casually draping her arms over his shoulders and leaning forward to whisper something in his ear. He shivered as Aia gently hugged him from behind and Niri got down on her knees.

Yeah. I _definitely_ wasn't going to like this.

* * *

Word and phrase translation:

Mou= Said like this, it means something like "Geez!"  
Urusai= The meaning of the word itself is "annoying, loud, fussy" but when yelled as an order, it means "Shut up!" ...  
"ze"= This is just something Kiori adds at the end of every sentence. When her sentences are in Japanese, it makes her sound boyish. ("Yo! Atashi no namae wa Kiori desuze!" translates to "Yo! My name is Kiori, ze!")  
"Oi!"= something yelled to get attention. It's _very_ informal. Pretty much only guys use it; girls would say something like "Hora!" ("Hey!") "Matte!" ("Wait!) or "Sumimasen/Suimasen!" ("Excuse me!") to get attention.

Thanks for reading!


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